Flat panel monitors eliminate the electron beam and vacuum tube found in conventional displays, replacing them with a grid of pixels. Referring now to FIG. 1, in typical prior art drivers for pixels in such flat panel monitors, it is necessary to have latches and level shifters in every stage driver. This consumes power.
In certain prior art arrangements, current copiers and other circuits are used in the current signal circuitry block of data drivers, e.g. for OLED devices. A problem with these prior art devices, e.g. FIG. 1, is that latches and level shifters are also required in many such circuits, e.g. current copier circuits, current mirror circuits, and the like. Further, typical digital-to-current circuitry of the prior art allows power source and current copier stage data drivers to be connected momentarily, resulting in resistive power consumption. Transferring digital data signals from flexible printed circuit (FPC) pins to every data driver throughout the video lines may also result in dynamic power consumption. Additionally, sampling and amplifying digital signals may require latches and level shifters in each stage driver. At times, small level digital signals may not be transferred to an appropriate driver circuit.
Reduction in power consumption is especially desirable for organic light emitting diode (OLED) devices. Allowing digital signals to be input and optionally amplified, e.g. by level shifters, without a need for latches and level shifters driving every stage reduces the power requirements and power consumption of these devices.